Inside Our Balance
by RiaKitsuneYoukai
Summary: A bunch of one-sentence Taang shorts.


**Memoir**

She lifts the flattened panda lily out of the book pages and fingers it softly -- a single edge turns to dust under her calloused hands.

**Perpetual**

He draws each of the nations' symbols in the sand with his finger, and then circles them over and over... because they'll always be linked, and he'll always be moving through them with his reincarnations (he secretly hopes that he'll continue to find _her_ in each of his lives, too).

**Alchemy**

"The power of transforming something common into something special," Zuko reads aloud, and Toph nods, realizing that her first friend is not only the Avatar, but an alchemist, as well -- he brought her into a group of misfits and turned them all into a family.

**Amulet**

He hands her a braid of grasses and strawberry vine, and she rubs at the petals of the plum blossom at the front -- "a good luck charm," he says.

**Aerial**

She squints towards the sky, as he does another insane flip, to hear him laugh -- he always laughs loudest when she's watching.

**Aesthetic**

He finds her curled up against one of the many stone walls of the city, rubbing the thick makeup from her face -- leaning over her, he tilts his head and says, "You're much prettier without it."

**Antique**

His intentions were thoughtful when he mentioned her age, but she didn't see it that way -- consequently, he had to hobble away from her dangerous hands without the help of his cane (the airbending, however, was always handy).

**Mischief**

The prank was perfectly set; they might have ruined the surprise a little, though, by their frantic squeaking whispers and his tendency to trip on his own feet ("_Move_, Twinkles! _Hurry_!").

**Commit**

It's not that she was afraid to get married -- and she knew he wasn't at all, having suggested it a million times -- it was just much easier to say, "This is my student," than, "This is my husband."

**Break**

The hot pain of knives against her feet, the screams of her friends, and the notion that the whole world might be lost because of their mistake was nothing compared to the realization that, by being forced to watch, he just... might... _break_.

**Reverie**

Not stern talking, tea, or the cold shock of water worked -- the rock she had lodged in his nose, however, would probably solve the daydreaming problem.

**Allusive**

She turned around in the saddle to make a face at her home, and he chuckles happily; they should have realized, by now, that there was no way she would ever be locked up.

**Play**

They invented a new game for the Air Temple canyon; she would stand at the top and scream, "MARCO!" -- running, he would scream back, "POLO!" and try to avoid being hit by exploding tremors of earth.

**Earthly**

He crouched by her space of practice, listening to her movements and feeling the pulse of the moving earth under his feet and the heart that controlled it -- this was how he knew her best.

**Lucid**

Aang habitually began shaving off the black peachfuzz of his head -- "_My eyes!_" Toph playfully screached, blocking the shine she couldn't see.

**Obstinate**

He could hear her laughing cruelly as he pounded on the earth tent that imprisoned him -- "You have to bend your way out, Twinkles!"

**Haste**

"Ready?" she asked, clinging to the thick brown fur of her badgermole, and he grinned at the bizarre race they had created; "Always," he replied, and patted Appa's side.

**Vague**

The occasional time, Toph could have sworn she drempt in color; there was always a woman in blue who screamed, and always something long and creepy that laughed.

**Affinity**

She stood rooted to a pillar of earth, and he hung above her on a ball of air -- the sudden shock when their hands touched startled them both.

**Echo**

The idea was to move everything out of the Bei Fong house (they had left the place to Toph, and spirits knew _she_ didn't want it), but upon discovering the echo the empty place created, both benders decided it would be infinatly more fun to yell at the ceiling.

**Ideal**

When Katara asks about her ideal boy, she sighes exasperatly -- in the back of her mind, though, she can still feel the shape of large ears, a long nose, slanted eyes, and the tiniest indentation of a blue tattoo.

**Purge**

As Aang gasps at the price of the stuffed badgermole doll she had so quickly noticed, Toph, grinning, dumps out the entire contents of her purse.

**Purify**

She jumps at the feel of the icy water, but soon finds that the way it washes away the earth that clings to her is quite restoring -- and she can enjoy it, knowing his waterbending is keeping the current from sweeping her away.

**Quintessence**

She drops back into the grass and breathes it in; the wind twines between her fingers and traces the shapes of her face -- snickering, she calls out, "I'll be there soon, Twinkles."

**Renegade**

She frowns at the burly men before her, crossing her arms just as they do -- "I didn't _desert_ you," she says, jabbing a thumb at the Avatar behind her, "I just had to go teach _him_ how to rumble."

**Replay**

"Do it again!" she calls out, and Aang sighs, pushing his body to the limit for the fifteenth time.

**Rendezvous**

"So, here's the deal," Toph says, drawing an non-understandable map in the dirt, "I talk to them for a bit, give them the 'I love you, I missed you, blahblahblah...'" earth flies into both of their faces as she smashes the ground with her fist, "Then you break through the ceiling and we are _out of there_."

**Sophistic**

"_If you love someone and want them to love you_..." the girl named Meng tells her excitedly -- "For good luck or something," she shrugs the next day, handing him an orange.

**Melancholia**

"Melan... molo... mumphan...mallenchi..." Toph struggles to pronouce the word; groaning at the hallucinating Avatar in front of her, she finally yells, "Go to sleep, Melon-head!"

**Meticulous**

"Your foot is wrong," she says, kicking it out a little; "Your stance is too high," she repeats, pushing on his shoulders to make him sink; "Your hand is too loose," she scrunches his fingers in closer -- "You're hiding your face," he retorts, pushing her bangs behind her now-pink ear.

**Pillage**

"If Katara can get away with stealing from theives, then I can get away with stealing from my own house," Toph argues, making the Avatar frown -- quietly, she adds, "They stole my freedom."

**Monody**

He is undoubtedly startled to hear the bruised girl singing softly to the unconcious Fire Prince, her voice scuffing and pitching sharply as she plays with the fingers of his hand, but somehow, he has never been more moved.

**Pathway**

There are two forks they could take, one rocky and one winding; Toph grabs his shirt, Sokka's shirt, and, calling for the rest to follow, moves off the path entirely.

**Envy**

He would have thought it impossible, before, to be envious of Zuko, but when he and Toph became close as siblings, sharing witty banter and routine piggyback rides, Aang changed his mind.

**Knight**

They both scoff and laugh at the pictures of the men in armor, immitating what it must be like to walk in thick, impractical metal, but Aang, in the back of his mind, still wishes he could be like the knights, invincible and able to save what is most precious to him.

**Unstable**

Aang laughs, gathers his teacher in his arms, and asks how she's enjoying the bouncy tarp -- "It's a million times worse than flying."

**Intimate**

It's funny: when Zuko and Katara kiss, they are so passionate about it; holding each other close as though one is going to fall apart without the other -- he often doesn't even kiss Toph, just pushes his forehead against hers and watches her smile, because that's all they need to know the other isn't going to break.

**Rehab**

First it was Sokka who carried the burnt earthbender around, without complaint; then Zuko, and everyone giggled at their playful banter; somehow Aang was suprised, dispite that, when she called him over and literally climbed into his arms.

**Insane**

He turns to look at the referee, his face flat -- "Yes, she is," he says, and there is a strange sense of pride about his words.

**Sunbath**

"What're you doing?" he asks, staring down at the content girl; she grumbles at him and waves a hand, "Warming up -- get out of my light."

**Moonshine**

He isn't a waterbender (technically, he is, but not _of_ the water), but the light of the full moon still seems to help his bravery when he decides to push his lips against hers for the first time.

**Starfruit**

She runs her muddy fingers over the fruit multiple times, frowning and leaving tracks, then waves it in Aang's face, frustrated -- "Great, but what does a star _look_ like?"

**Subconcious**

Once, curious, he crawled over and started asking questions to the sleeping, mumbling girl -- he left with chills ("_Mmm... go 'way, Kuruk... I'm tryin'ta sleep_.").

**Shade**

Irritated, for some reason, by the black shadow over her eyes, Aang shoved her bangs back with both hands -- she bit him.

**Nightclub**

"Being the Avatar, I have certain connections," he says, talking suavely as he leads his teacher to a small, tree-encircled feild; she gasps and grins at the heat of a passing firefly.

**Dayspa**

"Actually, I did learn something useful from the spa," Toph says, comfing herself and kicking the wet earth at him, "Mudbaths are good for your skin."

**Confess**

"I'm really afraid of female skybison," he whispers, holding the earthbender tightly; she laughs quietly and then shreaks at the same pitch, scrunching up against him as another wave of thunder roars overhead; "I'm not afraid of anything," she whispers back.

**Manor**

They walk side-by-side as Katara excitedly gives them a tour of their new home; "Too big," Toph mumbles, and Aang sighs in agreement.

**Open Air**

She stands among the unmoving people, smothered by the still air, the open air, the air that echos his sobs, the air that smells like blood, and decides she would rather suffocate than breathe it anymore.

**Underground**

Toph was the only person able to see in the dark, the one relied on in the deep spaces under the earth, and she's not sure whether she's proud or irritated that he can now do it too.

**Mirth**

He knows the adults who have joined their group don't approve of how carefree they seem -- each day, _something_ that _someone_ does will bring forth an eruption of laughter (hers is usually the loudest and most contageous) -- but do they know how important that spirit is?

**Zeal**

Zuko was the only one who would play Hide and Seek with the two youngest benders -- and they loved playing with him, because he was scarily good at it.

**Whirlwind**

"See, if you do it right, it gets all twisty," he informs her, cutting off the wind and letting her squish the sides of the pastry's whipped topping.

**Enamor**

Aang had to laugh at how obsessive Toph was of the Earth Rumble standings -- she literally danced away with the informative paper Hawky had delivered, returning only after remembering she needed him to read them out loud.

**Backdoor**

Aang runs eagerly into the sunlight, throwing his arms to the sky, and she stands at the mouth of the cave, fingering the carvings that none but the blind would notice ("_Always brightest in the dark_.").

**Paradise**

He is startled by the last part of her decision, and sits up to stare at her -- "In your paradise," he repeats, dumbfounded, "there's earthbending, badgermoles, music, and _dancing_?"

**Oceanic**

"It's a boat," she growled exasperatly, locking her fingers and toes into the earth, and he argues back that it's a_ raft_, which is entirely different; "It goes on water, it leaks, it can sink."

**Mirage**

The fancily-dressed earthbender giggles and pushes away from her mother's arms, staring straight up at the ceiling with her blank eyes for a few moments before collapsing from too much drink ("_You make the stupidest promises, Twinkle Toes.._.").

**Dusk**

She yawns, and he can't help thinking that, even with her face stretched to extremes, the light from the setting sun makes her look amazingly radiant.

**Dawn**

It's almost routine, now: he wakes up, rubs his eyes, walks past her tent, and takes her hand as she falls in step beside him.

**Mist**

Once, when she was sick and too feverish to tell him to stop talking, Aang told her the story of fog; how the spirits of the Ocean and Sky made a gown of finely woven water for the burned spirit of the Earth to wear, and how the Sky and Earth danced across the mountains and draped them in mist -- Toph slept peacefully for the first time in hours.

**Prisoner**

They are stupid to think that she can be held back by wood instead of metal -- she has long since learned to bend the decaying flesh of trees (which, essentially, turns to earth) -- he, however, has not, and his struggle against the bonds has made him too weak to try.

**Solitary**

It bothers the earthbender to no end that she can never actually be without her student, because he is literally the very air she breathes (or at least part of it).

**Asylum**

"Great," she yells, throwing her arms up in exasperation at the upside-down ceilings of the Western Air Temple and the mess of fighting and arguing in front of her (the boy behind her chuckles, and she sighs gratefully at his reaction -- he hasn't laughed in a while), "My own personal nuthouse!"

**Fortress**

She hates how her once impenetrable tent of stone is now so easily broken by his bending; especially when she's vulnerable, especially when she wants to be alone, and spirits forbid, especially when she happens to be crying.

**Nostalgia**

It bewilders Aang to no end to see his children and the children of his friends playing a game called _War_ -- but then he watches his little earthbender hang off her firebending cousin, the two water siblings yell about the rules of the game, and his clumsy airbending toddler spin himself into a daze, and he grins.

**Schoolroom**

They all played along with Sokka's _Teach Toph About School _game -- even Katara and Zuko -- with relatively straight faces, until their teacher, complete with beard and Wang Fire voice, turned to Toph to answer a question, and her addicting giggles consumed the lot of them.

**Restrain**

It takes everything she has not to stop the little airbender from confessing his love to the older girl -- "You're going to get _hurt_..." she whispers into the sky.

**Intricate**

"Why are girls so weird?" he asks, twirling a peice of grass in his fingers; Toph shrugs, knowing this is the sort of question he'd trust to ask only to her, and replies, "We're just... complicated."

**Jaded**

"He won't _listen_ to me!" the waterbender shreaked, frustrated by the Avatar's lack of response; Toph sighed sadly as some of the older girl's tears landed on her hand and mumbled, "Because you're trying to make it hurt less."

**Azure**

Blue was a very peircing color, Aang decided, no matter what you called it, and sometimes he rathered the company of pale green that didn't ask such awkward questions.

**Nirvana**

"It's the final state of peace; a state where everyone is loved," he explained, gesturing a hand towards the sky -- they both paused to listen to the shreaks of laughter and conversation of their family, and slowly Toph asked, "Don't we already have that?"

**Nocturnal**

It was nice to know that when Aang's quiet yelps startled her awake she wouldn't get mad -- she might playfully beat on him and tell him to shut up, but never did she get mad (never did she ask about the dreams that caused them, either, but she'd listen if he wanted to tell her).

**Diurnal**

During the day she was the loudest, roughest, most filthy girl he knew, but when night came around, and he happened to be light enough on his feet (or in the air, as she had started waking from the movement of the wind), Aang discovered that Toph, dispite the light snoring, was the most serene-looking person he had ever seen.

**Nymph**

After the story Katara told, where trees and mountains and flowers became beautiful girls, the Avatar had a hard time getting his earthbending teacher out of his head (maybe it was due to the suit of rock she had created and worn during his training...).

**Watercolor**

He smiles at the painting he has created -- a representation of his family, high on a mountain encircled by clouds; and there's a river flowing down it, and a little fire burning -- and instead of one for each, he paints the elements all the colors he can get his hands on.

**Geisha**

"Wow, that girl's more dolled up than I am..." mumbles Toph, blowing her hair from her face, and Aang turns from the painted lady to look at her, baffled at how she can tell.

**Tether**

He happened to come along a resting Kuruk once, in the Spirit World (though the man's eyebrows were knotted with stress), and happened to ask how an Avatar could marry if they could have no earthly attachments -- "Love trancends limitations," said his former self.

**Erase**

It was bad enough his limbs hurt from the constant growth spurts, but now Aang had the pain of a giant bruise on his forehead -- when he asked what happened, a red-faced Toph scoffed and told him he had simply fallen.

**Liberate**

Aang tore down the hillside, ignoring Katara's protests -- no matter how helpful that roadsman had been, he could not let him keep those animals caged -- he was startled to find Toph already there, angerly ripping the locks apart with her bare fingers.

**Center**

He stood breathlessly at the small door of the Spirit Oasis, leaning on the frame with one hand and sheilding his eyes with the other, and called out, but she didn't move from the center of the warm place -- her blind eyes were locked on the two swirling koifish.

**Rhythm**

When the deep beats started up through his feet, resonating with his heart, he didn't even need to look before spinning around to grasp Toph's fist and stomp his foot ("_Floor Dance time_," she smirked).

**Routine**

She's started to notice his increased heartbeats in their earthbending routine, and to Toph, that means more strenuous training -- he rests just long enough to get her to close the gap and start yelling at him, then literally pulls her into a dizzying kiss -- he's rewarded with another set of fifty weighted pushups.

**Serene**

She asks him to discribe the sky; today she says it sounds boring, but he says it's just resting -- "Tomorrow," he promises, "It'll laugh, and I can show you the clouds."

**Blank**

"She has the best poker face _ever_," -- Zuko stares, and Aang decides _he_ has a pretty good one, too.

**Edge**

"Don't push me!" she squeals, knotting her arms tighter around his and digging her strong toes into the edge of the cliffside; Aang pauses, letting the air pull at his glider ever so slightly, and waits, his ready feet drifting just overtop her fearful ones.

**Honor**

"I have to regain my hon--!" before he can finish the sentence, Toph slaps the firebender across his good cheek; Aang balks at the thought of what she would have done to _him_ if she had been around when he had said the same thing.

**Glamour**

The guests of the Bei Fong house fawn over their young daughter and never fail to compliment the strings of jade and glass and silver hanging from her hair and neck -- the Avatar, standing offside, hoarded by his own fans, sighs and longingly pictures the dolled-up girl in her casual green and tan and healthy coating of earth.

**Grownup**

"I'm not an adult!" her son screams, and the wind bristles around her, and she can smell his tears -- she gathers the squirming child in her arms and says proudly, "You don't _have_ to be."

**Nevermore**

For once, Toph doesn't care that she's being clingy and whimpering and getting snot and water over everything, because this is the most scared she's ever been in her life -- she buries her face -- _her face _-- into his chest and bawls as he springs out of the Spirit World on his air-light feet and promises never to lose her again.

**Lagoon**

"Turtleducks!" she squeals excitedly, laying at the pond's edge; he inconspiciously bends the water her way, and the quacking birds follow, graciously swimming into her outstretched palms.

**Evolve**

The Avatar is a very humble person, but there are many reasons for that -- one of which being that the boy has lived most of his life with a woman who can _shift entire mountains_.

**Thoughtless**

"Oh, sorry, Twinkles -- are you going to go crying to your mommy, now?" she taunts, realizing her fault only after he tries to say no and his voice cracks.

**Between**

"Hey," he calls from the other side of the bison; Toph rolls over, scowling, "I'm sorry."

**Second Chance**

Toph beats his chest once more with her tight fist, and he finally gasps, rolling to his side to cough up blood -- "Get up, Aang, get up -- _he can't take us down_!"

**Written**

"Do you think they'll ever tell stories about us?" the earthbender wonders aloud, and the group is silent a moment -- "Yeah," comes the voice of her student, rocking on his heels, "They'll say how the Avatar had to fight to save the world, and wouldn't have won without his family beside him."

**Fight**

He has to put one hand on each side of her waist to stop the bleeding; one to press against the wide gash, and one to keep her from squirming ("_Shit_, Aang, that _hurts_!").

**Discover**

He's caught in surprise when the young woman he hasn't seen for years pulls away from his hug and puts her hand atop his head, simply saying, "You've grown," -- Aang relaxes and laughs, though, when she punches him in the guts, adding, "I told you not to get any taller than me!"

**Hidden**

They call it "Earth Code" -- it was a game, intentionally, but became all the more handy when they were gagged and blindfolded and could only speak by tapping the chains that strung them up.

**Silence**

Toph is never that quiet.


End file.
